Visit my Travel Blog!: Kamikazee WanderGirl

Local and international tourists need no longer endure long lines when it comes to paying their travel taxes – thanks to the efforts of TIEZA, the government arm tasked with the collection and allocation of travel taxes. The government agency has now rolled out the Travel Tax Online Payment System. No more falling in line […]

“Not all who wander are lost,” so goes the oft-quoted line from JRR Tolkien’s poem “All That is Gold does not Glitter.” Marianas Islands, a lush Micronesian paradise made of tiny tropical islands in the Pacific sandwiched between the furthermost edges of Japan, Hawaii, New Guinea and the Philippines and currently classified as a US […]

Traveling nowadays doesn’t stop when one reaches the destination. The dawn of technology has given rise to the need to be always connected – whether sharing amazing photos of sunrise on top of Mt.Fuji, of well-worn but romantic path along Nami Island or reunion photos with long-lost cousins in California – some travel moments were […]

The last time I was in Boracay, it was mid-June of 2007. I have recently left my job at the shipping line plying the seas of the island and was returning for “the last time – for the time being.” Unlike most people who considered the island as paradise and vacation spot, the nature of […]

One of the things I was considering when I first went to Japan is to enter the country via Osaka and then make way to Tokyo via overnight bus through Willer Bus Service. Willet offers online bus reservations and unlike here in Manila, when you have to buy your physical tickets in advance if you […]

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What is a Cedula — and what is it for?

During the Spanish era, one of the highlights of the Philippine revolution was when Andres Bonifacio and his fellow Katipuneros tore their Cedulas to signal the start of the Filipinos’ revolt against Spanish rule. That moment in history is called “The Cry of Pugad Lawin” (also known as “The Cry of Balintawak” where in August 1896, members of the secret society of Filipino revolucionarios Katipunan tore their community tax certificates (cedulas personales) while shouting, “Mabuhay ang Pilipinas” in their defiance of their allegiance to Spain.

More than 100 years later and on a God-forsaken Friday morning, I ponder this same thought as I line up in one of the available windows of the city hall to get my community tax certificate or cedula. The Hub and I needed to sign some contracts and one of the requirements is a CTC number. So, five years after I got married, I found myself again needing one.

So what is the Cedula or the community tax certificate? To me, it’s the random jumble of numbers which you need to acknowledge a document prior to sending it to the notary public. But because I was curious, I looked it up and found out that here in our country, Cedulas are considered primary forms of identification, in the same vein as the passport or your driver’s license. CTCs are issued to individuals at the age of majority and who has paid their community tax. During our usual office round table during lunch, I asked what’s the difference between the freaking tax deducted from my salary and the community tax? The cool boss said that our community tax pays for the utilities used by our town or city, like garbage collection, payment of the city security group, fixing of local signs and light fixtures. In my head, I can’t seem to process that I am paying this government twice in order for it to function.

But are Cedulas still relevant in these modern times? The Bureau of International Revenue seemed to think otherwise:

“In the modern digital age of electronic identification cards, does the Philippines still need that relic of the Spanish era, the community tax certificate known as the cedula?

For Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares, the answer is a firm no.

She could not immediately provide the exact figure of how much could be saved if cedulas were phased out, but said it would be “in the millions.” Henares said the BIR is required to provide cedulas to the country’s more than 1,000 cities and municipalities.

“I think that is an area that is ripe for reform. You remove that,” Henares said.

Introduced in the 19th century during Spanish colonial rule, cedulas replaced the tribute system and were issued to indios after payment of residence tax. People were required to bring their cedulas at all times or risk being declared “indocumentado.”

The certificates took their place in Philippine history in August 1896, when revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio led his men in tearing up their cedulas, an act of defiance against Spanish rule.

I currently a resident of the Philippines’ so-called richest city, with our current mayor a spawn of a political dynasty with ambitions for the highest office in the land. Considering the number of employed people in these city and the number of people who was in line that day, waiting for their own cedulas, I want to know where these so-called “taxes” are going. The dynasty said that our city is a rich city, and if it is so — then do we need to pay for a piece of paper with no significant use other than to acknowledge a legal and binding document? Can’t our passport numbers or Unified ID Numbers do that for us?

In this day and age where the road to progress is getting wired and wired further and everything online, don’t you think it’s about time that these cedulas get torn up for good?